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Marco Giltrap Chasing a Triple Crown

Three victories in three countries, that’s the goal for Marco Giltrap as he heads in to the third weekend of a triple header that has seen him win an endurance race in New Zealand, a championship in Australia, and culminating now in a world title fight this weekend in Italy.

Three victories in three countries, that’s the goal for Marco Giltrap as he heads in to the third weekend of a triple header that has seen him win an endurance race in New Zealand, a championship in Australia, and culminating now in a world title fight this weekend in Italy.

Giltrap made the perfect start to his treble attempt last weekend, teaming up with Ant & Paul Pedersen, to win an action-packed Highlands 6 Hour in a Mercedes AMG GT3 car.

Despite a setback early in the race involving a loose wheel, Giltrap contributed to the trio’s stellar performance to climb back through the field and take victory in what is the marquee event on New Zealand’s endurance racing calendar.

With barely a moment to celebrate his Highlands victory, Marco was on a plane to Australia to prepare for a Championship deciding weekend in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia. Even better, the venue was the legendary Bathurst circuit.

Giltrap already had one hand on the trophy coming in to the weekend, after claiming four wins and never finishing lower than fifth across the entire season. The 19-year-old Porsche rookie took to the series like a veteran, showing supreme confidence from the get-go.

This confidence drove Giltrap to secure the championship in the first race, with a podium result as icing on the cake. The rest of the weekend showed more underwhelming results, but Marco Giltrap left Bathurst as the 2023 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge champion, and winner of the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy.

 

This strong season has led to a seat with Team Porsche New Zealand/Earl Bamber Motorsport for the top level 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season, where he’ll be driving the latest 992 GT3 Cup car.

However, before any thoughts of ’24, he has a chance to complete his run with a double win at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final at Italy’s Vallelunga. Giltrap has just wrapped up the Super Trofeo Asia Championship, with a record setting 8 consecutive wins, and now will challenge for the World Title.

Alongside Chris van der Drift, the kiwi pairing dominated the Super Trofeo Asia field and will be looking to continue that form as they compete against the world’s best Super Trofeo drivers, including fellow kiwi Brendan Leitch, winner of the Super Trofeo Europe Championship.

"After having just raced with Brendon at the highlands 6 hour both of us are excited to be racing against each other. I have been following the European series closely to see how he has been doing so it will be interesting when we combine to race against each other" said Giltrap.

The World Finals are the culmination of the regional championships that take place across Europe, North America and Asia, with the winner crowned the Lamborghini World Champion. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?